Best PlacesCumberland County, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cumberland County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Cumberland County ranks 2,008th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Cumberland County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Cumberland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Cumberland County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of counties
- QuietBetter than 94% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 80% of counties
Where Cumberland County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of counties
- Short commute38.3 minutes each way, better than only 1% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cumberland County
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cumberland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $58,963; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Cumberland County's effective rate of 0.53%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cumberland County
Cumberland County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Cumberland County.
Who works in Cumberland County, and how
Work in Cumberland County centers on retail trade and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Cumberland County
Cumberland County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Cumberland County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cumberland County growing, and who is moving in?
Cumberland County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Prince Edward County, VA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cumberland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cumberland County, month by month
Cumberland County sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 39° | 27° |
| April | 74° | 59° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 75° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Cumberland County
The nearest airport, Charlottesville-Albemarle, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around Cumberland County
Schools across Cumberland County average a B, better than 76% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Cumberland ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cumberland MiddleB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Cumberland HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cumberland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cumberland County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Cumberland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Cumberland County
Is Cumberland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cumberland County ranks 2,008th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, quiet, and clean air, and lowest on walkability and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cumberland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $252,990. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $58,963 median income, cost of living beats 21% of counties.
Is Cumberland County safe?
Cumberland County is safer than 39% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $368 per resident a year.
Compare Cumberland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cumberland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cumberland County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Cumberland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cumberland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cumberland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cumberland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cumberland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cumberland County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.